The Patchogue-Medford School District is reconsidering purchasing new univents with heating and cooling capacity districtwide. The proposed $85,375,000, bond will be put up during the regular budget vote this May and will include additional enhancements.

The original vote for solely the univents in classrooms took place in October of 2022. It was not approved by voters.

According to superintendent Dr. Donna Jones, “We are super excited to be able to put this bond back up for consideration,” noting timing and need. “This [proposition] has several enhancements.”

This year, the board of education, with input from a special bond advisory committee, according to  Jones, decided to add several additional upgrades including a new multi-purpose turf athletic field, located just west of the existing high school stadium, as well as additional athletic field improvements such as adding technology, a jumbotron, and digital scoreboards and updating the press box, which is currently over 15 years old.

The addition of the jumbotron, according to the district, will not only improve athletics but also be utilized during graduations instead of renting big screens as they currently do.

The proposition will also allow for the purchase of new audio and visual technology for the music and fine arts department.

“We want to make sure all musical productions are enhanced,” Jones said of the proposed upgrades in both sound and lighting in all secondary performance spaces. Jones added that the new technology will help not only the performers but the crew as well, learning on state-of-the-art equipment that you find in professional performance venues.

The air quality portion of the project, she said, is not only in response to the COVID pandemic, but also due to the impact of climate change and the increasing pollutants in the air. 

The project will include individual classroom climate control—both heating and cooling—to improve the learning environment in all classrooms districtwide year round. The project will also improve the quality of the fresh air intake and provide the ability to keep all classroom windows closed at all times for added security.

According to the district, the current systems are at least 60 years old and would require incremental replacements regardless.

The proposition will be presented to the voters to authorize a $85,375,000 bond referendum to be paid over 15 years with an estimated 4.5 percent interest rate.

The estimated annual impact on the taxpayer in the first year that the new bond payments would overlap with current bond payments would be approximately $75 for the average home assessed at $2,800. State aid is expected to cover 73 percent of the total cost of the bond. 

Additionally, the district’s current debt is expected to fall off by 2028/29, and after this bond overlaps in 2026/27 and 2027/2028 it will essentially cost less to the taxpayers than the existing debt by essentially replacing it.

“This would be a good time while being mindful of not trying to overtax the community and for us to make improvements that are long overdue,” Jones added.

The original bond was taken out over 20 years ago in the amount of $150 million and utilized for several expansion projects at district buildings.

“It’s going to be a huge undertaking,” Jones said of the current project, adding that an estimated timeline and anticipated completion dates of the projects will be provided to the community before the date of the vote.

Factors impacting the timeline would be state education approvals that are needed for all project designs, timing of awarding project bids, supply chain availability, and construction timing. 

The project is likely to be done in stages over the next several years.

The vote will take place on Tuesday, May 21, during the budget vote as the second proposition on the ballot.

According to Jones, the district will be hosting informational meetings with dates and times to be announced to further discuss the project